A lot has happened since I last posted; the dethronization of the Miami Heat failed by the Pacers, as the Heat are looking to lock up the number 1 seed in the East; the UConn Huskies won the NCAA championship, beating the Kentucky powerhouse, they even made Drake change sides.
The first thing I want to focus on are the struggling Indiana Pacers. This team has collapsed and if they continue to play this way I see a team like Charlotte or Washington winning the 1st round series, eliminating the Pacers. I think their biggest problem is the chemistry. For example when you look at teams like Miami, San Antonio, Chicago, LA (Clippers) these teams look like a band of brothers, they share a bond with each over. You don't see that with the Pacers, they are a very strong team but they don't seem to click. Maybe the Evan Turner trade and the signing of Andrew Bynum took a bad turn on the team. After that trade, NBA fans believed it was other for the Heat, as the Pacers were already strong and the acquisition of a young, good all around player like Turner to lead the 2nd unit would eliminate any chance Miami had to win the title. Well they were wrong, as Evan became just another role player averaging around 7 points I think.
Another issue with them is Paul George, a player I like and respect very much. I just think all the fame made him believe he's an NBA superstar, but he is not. He is still a young, developing, FUTURE NBA superstar. Analysts believed he was the league's 2nd best player, only behind LeBron James. I disagree, in my mind he still has a long way to go.
I have to admit I'm not the biggest fan of Roy Hibbert. A guy over 7 feet grabbing only around 7 rebounds? And shooting 45% from the field? Please, this guy is the definition of overrated. At the start of the season Hibbert claimed he will win the Defensive Player of the Year award, and Paul George will be the league's MVP. Now it's ok to be confident, but this is a bit cocky in my opinion, because if you say stuff like this you HAVE to back it up with your play and Hibbert simply doesn't. Below there is a stat comparison between Kwame Brown and Roy, provided by @NBATalkJoe. Is this guy really an All Star?
Kwame Brown 2003-04: "Bust"
10.9 - 7.4 - 1.5 - 48.9% FG
Roy Hibbert 2013-14: "All-Star"
11.1 - 6.9 - 1.2 - 45.5% FG
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2013998-kwame-browns-bust-year-and-roy-hibberts-all-star-season-are-quite-comparable
Jerry West and Danny Ainge believes this draft class doesn't have any game changing players and they are mostly right, except for Andrew Wiggins and Dante Exum from Australia, I believe both of them will become stars. Jabari Parker and Joel Embiid will probably stay in school for the next season and they are making a good choice. Parker can become one of the greatest college players in the history and could use a little more work on defense, whereas Embiid is still raw offensively, they both need time. I'm assuming Wiggins, Exum and Marcus Smart will be picked in the top 3 (doesn't matter in what order). This draft class is exciting as it is filled with players with potential (but not superstar level potential) but probably not all of them will fullfill it. Beside Wiggins and Exum I am also fond of a Kentucky Wildcat named James Young, who is a very athletic player and a more than good shooter, I hope once he gets on a good team he will become an all star one day. Here's a picture of his monster dunk on UConn:
Brak komentarzy:
Prześlij komentarz